Not too long ago I was asked to continue my work on A Wrinkle in Time to help celebrate the book’s momentous birthday this year. I probably won’t have the free time anywhere in the near future to finish comics for the rest of the book but it was really nice to revisit Calvin O’Keefe, Charles Wallace, and (of course) Meg.

My take on a hypothetical cover.

And a short comic. For those following along at home this sequence appears from Chapter 9; IT.

Also, SPOILER ALERT.

If you haven’t already, the rest of the work I did for A Wrinkle In Time can be found HERE.

The rest of the bloggers participating in this 50th anniversary tour can be found HERE.

And the new edition of the book as well which is mighty pretty if you ask me. It includes L’Engle’s Newberry Award acceptance speech which is so cute. That and a photo from the night of the awards ceremony (August 1963) her hair styled like a lollipop, elbow length white gloves looking exactly as you’d hope she would.

Life in Chicago, however wonderful it has been to me, has been exhausting. Wonderful but damn, so tiring. And although I’m genuinely sad to be leaving, the prospect of living in Angouleme for nine months is just too phenomenal to pass up. Having the time to just draw uninterrupted is a luxury I’d be lucky enough to enjoy anywhere, let alone France.

My time in France will be spent in Angouleme, as a resident at La Maison Des Auteurs starting in late summer of this New Year until spring of 2013. You can find more information on the website HERE, as well as this goofy vacation advertisement for the city of Angouleme and the things you can do with your time there. Like shop at the quaint farmers market. Or stand in awe before the majesty of roughly hewn stone cathedrals. Or go to a water park??

That said, well, the bad news at least, is that I’m delaying the launch of my new web comic Curveball until at least the summer. A downside, the only downside really, about moving to France is that its expensive which means more hours at my day job which inevitably (and unfortunately) means less time for comics. This in addition to a few recent really fortunate illustration gigs and trying to regain my social life has made free time a hot commodity round these parts.

{The sample cover I sent along with application for my residency to Les Maison Des Auteurs}

So maybe around May/June/hell July I’ll start spreading the word around. So just hang tight. My comics are not going anywhere. They’re just taking a little while longer than I thought to get started.

Besides that, I’ve been working on a 14 pager for the small publishing house 2DCloud. Little Heart (the anthology) focuses on stories about equal marriage rights. Considering I spent the fall attending the weddings of my parents, the project couldn’t have been a better fit. I’ve never drawn an autobiographical comic before and I’ll have to admit, it was hard for me. Walking the fine line between genuine sincerity and weepy melodrama was harder than I could’ve imagined. Besides, I think I need to take a lengthy break from drawing myself. I’m pretty bored with me.

Lastly, I did this week’s NewCity cover. For the past few years, the first cover of the year for the NewCity is the Education Issue focusing, not on high school or college students, but adults and their extracurricular activities that seem to flair up in this post-New Year’s resolution blitzkrieg.

This cover marks my fifth drawn, a majority drawn while living in the Windy City. With my France trip looming quickly on the horizon, I’ve become the biggest sap reminiscing about the time I’ve spent here. I love this city (a lot) and have nestled nicely into its fold. In the nearly two years I’ve lived here, I have barely skimmed the surface of all that this city has to offer me.

But the way I look at it, there’s a whole planet I’ve left nearly untouched.

1.) SPX was A-MAZING! The best show I’ve had in my year of tabling professionally! Really, a huge thanks to anybody who came by my table over the two days. I was totally blow away by your warmth and praise !

For SPX I made this little print which I am now selling online if you are interested.

For just 10 dollars and a quick email to jeremysorese (at) gmail.com, this little baby can be yours today!

2.) I gave my mom away at her wedding a few weeks back! It was wonderful and I kinda cried a little, whatever, I’m a man, I’m not ashamed of it.

3.) I did some drawings for my good bud Tait Howard’s little tumblr experiment Monster Month! If you’re into anything ghoulish or ghastly, there’s some really phenomenal work being posted over there for the month of October.

4.) Also, somewhere in the middle of last month I turned 23. That’s nuts, huh?

Today marks the last day for updates on In The Parlor Room. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I loved drawing it! And thanks for all the generous support and praise, at conventions and online and retweets, etc. etc. I really do appreciate it!

As for the future of my comics website, you’ll just have to hang tight for a short while because I’m already waist deep in my next project.

That’s right, my next book is right on schedule. You read right, I said “book”. Its actually books, plural, because I’m splitting the saga over three volumes, each clocking in at around 200 pages. Don’t worry, it feels as daunting as you’d assume but the pages I’ve drawn so far are the most enjoyable comics I’ve ever made, hands down.

Two weeks ago I tabled at Wizard World Chicago and I have to say, I had a lovely time! I met some really wonderful and generous people over the two days I spent behind my HUGE table. I’ve slept in twin beds smaller than the table I had all to myself at Wizard World, no joke. To pass the quiet hours at my Queen-sized bed of a table, I drew some super hero sketches.

I didn’t bring my camera so there is a drawing of the Punisher waving the flag of Puerto Rico and the Flash and a Nidoran (male) floating out there in the Universe undocumented.

Each cover has a set of cut out eyes that match up with a pattern of eye-esque shapes on the next page, like so. Silkscreening, so much funnn.

Each comic also includes this little illustration I added specifically for the book.

I won’t be selling these mini mini comics online but if you purchase a copy of In The Parlor Room, I’ll throw one in as a thank you! If you’re still interested in purchasing a copy of In The Parlor Room, email me over at jeremysorese (at) gmail.com and I’ll get you hooked up!

I also made a promotional postcard for myself. I wish there was a movie called Thriller Gores-day, which I don’t even know if that is a pun anymore!?!

Oh my lord, this blog is entry is HUGE. Sorry ’bout that!

Last but not least, I have two conventions coming up in the next few months. In a few weeks, I’ll be at SPX tabling with my dear bud NeilBrideau and Matthew Ocasio which I am super excited about. Who’s excited to wait in an insanely long line to buy a copy of Habibi whilst trying NOT to faint when you meet Craig Thompson! ME! ME! ME!

In November, I’ll also be tabling at MIX, the Minneapolis Indie Xpo with pal Jordan Shiveley of Grimalkin Press!!!

At the beginning of July I posted fanart I drew for the book series A Song of Ice and Fire and mentioned how it was for a little zine Kris Mukai was putting out called Blood Magic. Big news, its out!

In fact, I got my copy in the mail yesterday and I couldn’t be happier! Beautiful work inside, thick paper stock, and a fancy Risographed cover makes for one handsome little ‘zine. Pick up your copy today! Like I said last journal post, I love the book series and I’ve become something of a George R.R. Martin cheerleader (my Mom is reading the first book right now because I mailed it to her/I hope she loovvveeesss it) so I was pretty startled to hear that brave Kris Mukai gave Mr. R.R.Martin a copy of the zine in. real. life.

There it is! All the proof you or I need! P.S. Loovveee his flame covered suspenders! SO House Targaryen!

Its easy to forget that there is a reason why I slave away on what I do, day after day, week after week. And I’m sure nothing will come of this beyond maybe giving George R.R. Martin something to do on his flight back to Westeros but it is a little incredible that the world is small enough that instances like this can happen. All I know is that I am plain ol’ dumb lucky to get to do what I do and have an audience to share it with.

This week I did another illustration for another ‘zine, this one for my dear friend Chris Sutton.

Premiering at this year’s SPX, Chris’ will be distributing a book on famous Blue’s musicians entitled Blues!Blues!Blues!. When the book gets closer to fruition, I’ll let you guys know where you can find a copy. I didn’t know about Mississippi John Hurt until Chris picked him for me to illustrate but I’m so glad he did. If you’re into listening to incoherent stories told by little old grandpa men with fingers of gold, you should probably watch this video over on yonder.

Last but not least, another one of my ultra mega talented buds named Andy Hirsch started a new web comic this week called Varmints! Its adorable, all ages and a single buck will get you hooked, I swear it.

And just like that, I’ve lived in Chicago for a full year now. I probably wouldn’t have remembered something that specific unless I had written a blog entry here last June, back when I was working on A Wrinkle In Time pages and wandering my neighborhood aimless on a Fourth of July desperate to make new friends. And as a strange little milestone, I did this week’s NewCity cover.

If you’re unsure of that building in the middle, that would be the Tribune Tower, a Chicago landmark a la the Chicago Tribune, which may or may not be recognizable to anyone, Chicago-ians included.

Chicago architecture never ceases to make little or no sense to me. How does the Tribune Tower exist in the same eyeful as that sleek and slender Sears Tower?

I also submitted a piece to Kris Mukai’s new zine all about everyone’s new obsession A Game of Thrones. Back in November, I started reading the series and after a five month literary gorge-fest, finished all four books just as the HBO series started which help satiate my never ending need for my Westeros gossip fix.

Brienne did what? Robb Stark said that? Oh no, what did Cersei do this time?!?

I’ve come to have a soft spot for the Baratheon family and Kris’ ‘zine gave me such an excuse to draw some ‘fan fart’.